Guides
Learn mahjong
These pages describe the game Air Mahjong opens by default: American mahjong for four players, with our own card. Read one, then sit down. Nothing here is locked behind an account.
Free in the browser, with friends or with three computer players.
Play free nowA small win before a full game
Three short lessons. Then one calm hand.
Each prepared lesson runs without an account, room code or live opponent. You can retry as often as you like.
- Keep useful tiles together.
Pass 2 Bam, 6 Bam and 9 Bam while protecting the matching groups.
Practice the Charleston → - Call with a target.
Use two 1 Bams and a discard to form a Crosswind pung. Say why an ordinary pair call is different.
Practice a legal call → - Recognize a matching exchange.
Trade your 1 Bam for an exposed joker after drawing, before discarding.
Practice a joker exchange →
Then play one hand with this mission
Finish the Charleston, open the card and choose one possible line. Before each discard, name one tile your target still needs. Winning is optional; recognizing your next useful tile is the learning goal.
Start a free coached practice hand →This opens the included practice coach with computer players. Optional personal Kit voice coaching is separate.
What you are learning
A winning hand is fourteen tiles that match one line on the Air Mahjong House Card 2026. East starts with fourteen and discards first. Everyone else starts with thirteen and draws. Before that first discard, the table passes tiles in the Charleston.
It is a different shape from the mahjong many people meet first. Hong Kong and Japanese riichi, both available from the same lobby, build four sets and a pair. This game builds whatever the line in front of you asks for: pungs, pairs, a run of numbers kept in the rack, sometimes a quint that only a joker can finish.
If you have never played
Start with how a hand actually proceeds, then look up a tile when you meet it in the tile guide. The rules page is the one to keep open when a call or a pass feels unclear. Scoring can wait until you have declared Mah Jongg once.
When the card is more interesting than the reading, play a free practice match. Three computer players take the other seats, and the beginner coach can suggest one move at a time.
Common questions
Which kind of mahjong do these guides teach?
American mahjong, the four-player card game Air Mahjong deals by default, using the original Air Mahjong House Card 2026. Hong Kong and riichi are separate games in the lobby and do not use this card or the Charleston.
Where should a new player start?
Read how a hand proceeds, from the dice to Mah Jongg. Then play a practice match and use the card at the table. The rules, tiles, and scoring pages answer the questions that come up once you have seen a hand.
Do I need an account to read or to play?
No. The guides are public, and you can open a table or a practice match without creating an account. A name at the table is optional.
Are these the same hands as a league card from this year?
No. The lines were written for Air Mahjong. If you already play from an annual published card, the passing and the payments will feel familiar, and the winning hands will not.
The guides
- How to play mahjongOne hand, from the dice and the deal through the Charleston to Mah Jongg.
- Mahjong rulesLegal calls, the Charleston, concealed lines, and the wall game.
- Mahjong tiles explainedCraks, bams, dots, winds, dragons, flowers, and jokers.
- Mahjong scoringThe printed value, discard and self-pick payments, and the jokerless double.
- Mahjong strategy tipsChoosing a line, passing with a purpose, and when to leave a discard.
- Play mahjong online freeOpen a free table in the browser with friends or with the computer.
One decision at a time
Get comfortable with the tricky parts.
- The mahjong Charleston, one pass at a timeLearn the Charleston passing order with an actual Air Mahjong rack, a keep-or-pass explanation, blind-pass rules and a worked example of why 14 tiles may not win.
- American mahjong joker rulesSee exactly how a joker exchange can complete Crosswind, where jokers are legal, why a natural pair still matters, and which tempting swaps are not allowed.
- How to read a mahjong cardRead a real American mahjong rack against Crosswind, identify missing and unused tiles, and check group sizes, suit relationships, joker limits and concealment.
- When can you call a mahjong discard?Follow a real Air Mahjong hand from a legal pung call through the next discard to a winning pair. Learn the decision order and the claims that fail.
Ready to try a hand?
The American table is free. Open the lobby and deal.
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